''The Apprentice'' is a 1994 vertically scrolling platform game developed by

The Vision Factory The Vision Factory (also known under the names SPC Vision, SPC Codim and SPC Group) was a Dutch developer of video games for the Philips CD-i. The Vision Factory was originally a developer of business software named SPCC (allegedly an acronym f ...

and published by Philips Interactive Media in North America and Europe exclusively for the Philips CD-i. The first title to be created by The Vision Factory for the CD-i platform, the game is set on a fantasy

setting Setting may refer to: * A location (geography) where something is set * Set construction in theatrical scenery * Setting (narrative), the place and time in a work of narrative, especially fiction * Setting up to fail a manipulative technique to ...

inside the

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

of wizard Gandorf S. Wandburner III, as players assume the role of young apprentice

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

Marvin in order to complete a series of tasks given by his master while facing multiple mischiefs and creatures along the way. Headed by ''Steel Machine''

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

Luke S. Verhulst alongside longtime '' God of War''

programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

Tim Moss, ''The Apprentice'' was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at

SPC Vision The Vision Factory (also known under the names SPC Vision, SPC Codim and SPC Group) was a Dutch developer of video games for the Philips CD-i. The Vision Factory was originally a developer of business software named SPCC (allegedly an acronym f ...

and who would later go on to work at one of its offshoots before the company declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 2002. ''The Apprentice'' was met with positive critical reception from reviewers since its release, with praise towards the presentation, graphics, sound design and gameplay, though some reviewers drawing comparison with ''Dimo's Quest''. In recent years, it has been referred by publications such as '' Retro Gamer'' to be one of the best titles for the system. A sequel was in development but it never released after multiple attempts.

Gameplay

''The Apprentice'' is a vertically scrolling platform game where players assume the role of young apprentice magician Marvin in order to complete a series of tasks given by his master wizard Gandorf S. Wandburner III, while facing multiple mischiefs and creatures along the way. At the end of each stage, a boss must be fought in order to progress further, while bonus stages are also introduced as well.

Development and release

''The Apprentice'' was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at SPC Vision and who would later go on to work at one of its offshoots before the company declared bankruptcy in 2002. Its creation was helmed by

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

s Luke S. Verhulst and Tim Moss, with both sharing multiple roles during development respectively. The soundtrack was composed by Joost Egmond, while the

sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

were created by Joris de Man. Several other people also collaborated in its production. A former member of the team recounted on his personal web page about most of the techniques used during the game's development cycle. The title was released in North American and European markets in 1994, featuring artwork by Dennis Zopfi on the cover arts of each region.

Easter Eggs

A certain series of hidden Easter eggs can be triggered ingame by pressing the controls in a certain pattern with one killing a Monkey and the rest being mostly depiction of nude sprites of women.

Reception

''The Apprentice'' was met with positive reception from critics since its release and has been regarded in recent years to be a standout title for the CD-i. Betty Hallock of '' VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine'' gave positive remarks in regards to the graphics, sound and gameplay. French magazine ''

Joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

'' gave the title an overall rating of 81%.

Legacy

A sequel to ''The Apprentice'' was in development but it never released after multiple failed attempts.

References

External links

''The Apprentice''
at

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''The Apprentice''
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Apprentice (video game), The 1994 video games CD-i games Fantasy video games Platformers Single-player video games Video games about magic Video games about witchcraft Video games developed in the Netherlands Video games set in castles CD-i-only games